Android 2.0

As we all know, the Sprint Hero by HTC comes with Android 1.6 (oopss) 1.5, and many Hero users are waiting anxiously for the Eclair update. There's word from the Sprint Community blog about an upcoming update for the Hero, unfortunately, it appears to be just a maintenance release.
According to SarahKS (Sprint Admin.), a "maintenance release is being developed for the Hero to address key items such as SMS and DST issues." She also said that the target launch will be in the "next few weeks", but she doesn't know the exact date or what is going to be included on this MR. She ends her post making a promise to update as soon as she gets more info on the matter.
Now better news, at least for those who want to get a new HTC Hero. If you are amongst those who don't like the HTC Eris, but do like the shape of the Sprint Hero, BestBuy has a deal for you. They are selling the Sprint HTC Hero for $99.99 after instant discount with a new Sprint account. I personally like the Hero from Sprint better, and besides, the plans with that carrier are cheaper and give you more for your hard earn. Although that doesn't matter if you don't have good Sprint coverage where you live.

The guys over at www.phonewreck.com have done something that many people will hate to do to a brand new phone. But hey, many others want to know what makes their new toy tick. Well, this time was the DROID's turn to be on the operation table.
Of course there are many who will say sacrilege to this, but many others will say thanks, its all on the eyes of the beholder. The truth is that, most of the famous devices always get some type of surgery. The Verizon DROID by Motorola was taken apart so we can all see what makes it tick.
By the comments of the folks over at phonewreck, getting the Motorola DROID open was not an easy task. And apparently, Motorola was very sneaky by placing a screw underneath the google label and camera lens cover. So taking this DROID apart was pretty difficult, which speaks high of the quality build of this new Motorola device.
And if you were wondering about the sliding mechanism, well, they said that the DROID's sliding keyboard is the simplest they've ever seen. According to them, this "mechanism is essentially just two rails that are imbedded within the screen portion of the device". Well, simple or not, the good news is that it does its job just fine.

So the Saygus VPhone V1 smartphone is back on the news. The first time, when it cleared the FCC the images we saw of this phone were rough. But on the second round we actually notice a nice looking phone. This time, we have two videos and more info on the Saygus Vphone running on Android.
According to Saygus executives, the Saygus VPhone V1 is expected to launch late on this year or early 2010, and there's no official price just yet. The handset will ship with the Android version 1.6, but will be updated OTA (Over The Air) to Android 2.0 at some time in the near future. This device will be available to Verizon Wireless customers, but it wont be supported by the carrier, but by Saygus themselves since this smartphone is an Open Development Initiative device.
The main differentiators, according to Saygus Execs for this phone are that, it will work as a wireless access point and the front-facing camera. This front VGA camera is actually the main reason this phone is important to many people. It will allow for video conferencing on the mobile device, so its users can do video calling, either handset to handset or over VoIP clients that support this device.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdzlS1Fl2c8&feature=player_embedded#[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAJNmwFk2p0&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
Thanks to forum member djunio for the tip!

Is anyone here excited and waiting for the Samsung Behold II? Well, this new Android phone by Samsung is, according to the rumors, coming soon. I'm not very fond of the name, but hey, what can I do, maybe more of you do like that name. But this upcoming smartphone looks good on pictures and video, so we'll have to wait and see if it will be good or not.

November 6th 2009, a day to be remembered by all mobile tech followers and by those who got the Motorola DROID from Verizon. But also, a day that a lot of people are saying will mark the beginning of the update problems with the Android OS and the different devices running on it.

Verizon are going all out to position the Motorola DROID as a significant event, not just for Android devices but for the smartphone market in general, and that demands some serious testing. With sales of the Android 2.0 handset set to begin early on Friday morning, we've been playing with the DROID since its official launch last week to see if it lives up to the hype. Some boxes Motorola have definitely ticked; elsewhere we're left wanting. Read on for the full Android Community review.

Finally Sony Ericsson has come out with the truth about the Rachel phone we all have been talking about lately. And yes, it is an Android smartphone, and according to Sony Ericsson; the XPERIA X10 "introduces an open and integrated world of social media, communication and entertainment."
Our good pal Chris over at SlashGear was with Sony Ericsson in London yesterday, and took a good look at the new device from SE. The company said to him this is the launch not only of the Android X10 but of a new “user experience platform." The XPERIA X10 will be the flagship phone in a family of phones coming out from SE during the first half of 2010. Now when exactly is that? Well, SE is not saying, so stay tune.
According to SE, the new UX - that's how they are calling the "user experience" - platform "lets consumers organize everything and discover more with the most open, human and intuitive user experience yet". The XPERIA X10 has a 4-inch capacitive touchscreen running at WVGA 480 x 854 resolution, and unfortunately there isn't multitouch support. It includes UMTS 3G HSDPA/HSUPA, along with WiFi b/g, Bluetooth 2.1 and GPS, and all this will be run with the 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset.
If you want to find out more about the new XPERIA X10 from Sony Ericsson, than head on over to SlashGear. Also, don't forget to check the video (below) of the hands-on with this new Sony device.
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[Via SlashGear]

As the date closes by, more and more people are getting anxious to get their hands on the Motorola DROID. Some of those people, if not all, are disappointed that their new Android device from Big Red will not have multitouch capabilities, as the European version.
Well, the Europeans will be jealous of their American counterpart on the fact that the MILESTONE does not have support for the new Google Maps Navigation Beta. Which is a turn-by-turn navigation application that supports voice guidance, search-by-voice and automatic re-routing complete with traffic information. And is supposed to come to (almost) all the Android 2.0 devices near you.
A Google spokesperson has told our good friends over at SlashGear that the reason turn-by-turn directions is absent from the Motorola MILESTONE is because currently, the beta is US-only. So there you have it folks, it seems like the European Android 2.0 devices will not be getting this new feature from Google Maps, at least not now. In case you missed it, check this post for more info on Google Maps Navigation Beta. There, you will find a photo gallery and a video of the turn-by-turn directions.

Okay, so November seems to be the Android month of the year, Motorola Europe have officially announced the Motorola MILESTONE. Which is the GSM version of the Verizon DROID, and will also run Android 2.0. The MILESTONE has been confirmed for Germany and Italy on at least two carriers; Vodafone and O2, according to Motorola Germany.
Now, the Motorola sites are mum on release date or pricing for the MILESTONE, but the latest rumors have the release date for November 9th. Also, the new Moto device will be priced at €404.20 ($595) before taxes for business customers, according to those rumors. The Motorola MILESTONE has support for 900/2100 UMTS/WCDMA and quadband GSM, but other than that, the hardware specs seem to be identical to the Verizon DROID.
Now, as we all know by now, the DROID will go on sale by the end of this week, Friday, to be exact. The MILESTONE by Motorola will ship with the MOTONAV software, which offers 3D Landmarks and a trial version - yes, unfortunately just trial version - of EASY SEARCH, LANE GUIDANCE and POINTS OF INTEREST. But hey, it will have something the DROID doesn't have; Multitouch.

For those of you who don't have Sense UI in their Android phones, and got jealous about the Taiwanese HTC Magic getting that update, well, there's more to be jealous about. The HTC Hero will be getting an update sometime soon in the form of the Eclair (2.0).
HTC have confirmed to our good freinds over at SlashGear that they’ll be offering an update to Android 2.0 for the HTC Hero. HTC is asking that owners “be patient”, since they are not giving an exact date for the release.
Here's the statement from HTC:

Yes, we are working on an Eclair update for the HTC Hero. Because Eclair is a significantly enhanced release, it will require some time to update Sense for this new version of the Android OS. Please be patient while we work to provide you with a tightly integrated experience like the one you are already enjoying on your Hero.

Now, how will this be rolled out on to the different Android carriers, well, that is a mystery. What we know is that, the original European GSM version of the Hero, as well as the CDMA Sprint version, will both get it.